


The Bird catches The Bug ~AU Crossover~ (DISCONTINUED)

by WeaponizedToaster



Series: The Bat and The Bug. [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comment if you like the tags, Damian and Marinette are now my new OTP, Did this instead of a test that's due in a day, F/F, F/M, First thoughts on her scars is "Is she fucking abused", I got my priorities straight, I got some inspiration(obviously), I made Adrien an asshole, I mean she abuses herself-, I think I like this new writing style, I've got way too many tags, Last Tag, M/M, Marinette's got them battle scars that we all appreciate her for, Some characters don't show up until a couple chapters, This AU is kind of out of wack and it might be a series, why did i do this to myself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27496774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeaponizedToaster/pseuds/WeaponizedToaster
Summary: Damian Wayne.Seventeen, still Robin.Still cold.Still hateful.But a certain girl can change that.Marinette Dupain-Cheng.Newly seventeen, still Ladybug- kind of.Still warm.Still loving.She can do anything she puts her mind to.
Relationships: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Female OC, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Max Kanté/Sabrina Raincomprix
Series: The Bat and The Bug. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009458
Comments: 176
Kudos: 277





	1. The Bug's Issue

The Bug, or more specifically, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was having some difficulty this morning.. and, apparently, night.

The young designer was working late. She had her own designing company that she had been unable to keep up with. Of course, much to Marinette's despise, they had been asking where she had been. She wanted to tell them all that she had her own life, to bite back, but she couldn't. So, naturally, she had stayed up all night, creating dresses, corsets, etc.

During that time, she had even been able to fit in her own hoodie. It had red as it's main color, along with black spots. What could you expect from the young designer, also Parisian hero?

Tikki had awoken to the sound of her Chosen's machine. She had never taken care of such technology until she had met Marinette. The girl, while being a klutz, was also a fine Ladybug. Fine enough, in fact, that she had bonded with Tikki more so than any other Ladybug combined could have. Tikki's thoughts were saddened with a cloud of storm, and a sleep haze that caused it, as she carefully reminded herself to not get _too_ attached. After all, the Goddess of Creation was forever, whereas Ladybug, was not. Despite the thoughts clouding her mind, she flew up into the room from her Ladybug's pillow, carefully swimming through the air with such gentle play that not even the wind could master.

"What are you doing, Marinette?" The Kwami asked, her blue, deep, and rather large, eyes, looking at her Chosen.

"Oh, nothing much," The girl in question answered, taking a sip of coffee. "I'm just finishing some late designs."

"One hour before your schooling starts?" The little Goddess questioned, before looking at how tired her Chosen currently was. "How long have you been doing this for? You look tired.."

"Not long, Tikki. And, I'm feeling great, don't worry your little red head about it. I promise, I'm fine. I'll finish thirty minutes before class, I already calculated that. Then I can meet up with Alya and Nino!" Tikki noted how excited she was. Ever since Lila Rossi had shown up in the picture,- or 'Stick Bitch' as Alya calls her- Marinette had been down. She hadn't been looking forward to anything but sleep. Seeing her with all this energy, all this inspiration, made the little Goddess happy. Who couldn't be happy when the, rather _literal_ , sun was radiating brighter than it had even dared to a couple days ago, almost burnt out to warm and fuzzy? As if the Winter had faded, into a brighter Spring.

"Alright.." The little Goddess floated for a moment, before finding a rather comfier spot than a pillow on top of her Chosen's head. The girl had soft hair, nobody could deny it.

** AO3AO3AO3AO3AO3 **

She had stayed half true to her word. She was a tad late, as she had to finish the last touches of the dress, sizing the last size, before she rushed out the door with Tikki in the little handbag she had created when she first started to take up designing.

The young designer stressed herself to get out of the house, coffee tight in hand, before wheezing her way over to Alya and Nino. She was at least ten minutes late, making that a record. Alya was the first to burst into a fit of giggles, followed by Nino's laughter. 

"You did it, girl! You broke your shortest record!" Alya grinned, bending down to look at her best friend in the eyes. What she saw, she did _not_ like. Bags were under those lively eyes, and a coffee was tight in her pale hands. "You alright, girl?" Nino had stopped his laughter soon after his girlfriend had taken concern into the person they were laughing at.

"Hm? Oh! Yeah. I had to force myself-" She pointed to her cup of coffee. "- to stay up all night. Look at my page, you'll see why."

The conversation was followed by a _lot_ of mother-henning from our dear Alya. Along with an official 'grounding'. 

School had ended, and Marinette couldn't be more relieved. Then again, she was also sad. Or happy. She'd have to figure out once she woke up from an extremely long nap that she was going to take. Orders from Alya, of course.

_ Mme. Bustier had stopped them all for a minute. She had a wide smile on her face, "The last thing, class," That had gotten their attention, especially a sleepy Marinette, "We'll be heading for Gotham this year. This was suggested by your class president, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She suggested that we should go due to Wayne Enterprises, a rather fantastic company that we will be exploring. This means that your Spring Break will be cancelled, starting tomorrow, and used for Gotham credits. Come by my desk to recieve the paper. Your parents will have to sign this, and by tomorrow, we will require it. The time stamp is on the back, and you may use the link, as-well, to search up Gotham. Thank you for listening, have a wonderful day, students." _

_ She had held back, in case Lila or Adrien had come by, and grabbed onto the paper. She was glad that she could get out of this hellhole. All she had to do was use the horse miraculous if she needed to come back. Speaking of which, since all of it was cut off from the world, she had to tell someone her identity, so she could get alerts, she just didn't know.. who. Who would stay behind, that is fully capable of being trustworthy? She watched everyone who grabbed the paper. She came to her conclusion, out of a couple others, Max. He couldn't go due to his mother coming back from the International Space Station during Spring Break, so he obviously had to be there. Among that, she trusted him. Alya, Nino, Chloe, Kagami, and Luka knew her identity, but they couldn't help her since they were going- except for Luka, he was busy, though, with his own band.  _

_ So, her gaming friend was her best bet. Maybe tonight she'll speak with him. Maybe tonight.. she'll get a weight off of her chest. For now, until said night, she needed sleep. _


	2. The Bird's Issue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian has a rather tiny problem called "overworking."  
> Yes, Jason, a trip to a cafe so Damian is out of school is perfect.  
> The Bat brothers are helping their one man down, to be the third man up.  
> 'Cause he's younger than them.

Jason Todd glanced at his brother, a worried frown on his face. He was only met with a shrug from Tim Drake, and a very much working Damian Wayne.

Nobody could tell what was going on through the young Robin's mind. Seventeen and he's already overheating from all the work. Night patrol and projects have a rather terrifyingly easy way to burn somebody out. Including, the oh so horrifying, Ice Prince.

He was even scarier, Jason noted, when others came around. He hated it when they interrupted his current working.

In school, they had gotten frantic reports that Damian had been getting into fights with anyone who was too loud. While that was, perhaps, a blessing to those other students, it was hell for the student getting fought on.

It's no surprise that he did it, though. He had major trust issues after Talia, his birth mother, and he also had P.T.S.D from that. He was scared, _terrified_ , of getting close to someone, only to find out they were with his birth mother's group. While they had worked it out with him, caring for him, helping him sleep at night, the memories, that they could only imagine was horrible to the young eye, were harsh. He'd end up begging on his knees, at one time, to Bruce. Begging to be put in jail. And, ever since then, he had been closed off. Blocking out anything that hurt, blocking out anything that _tried_ to hurt, and instead, he hurt it back.

Of course, while he still grumbles back an _I hate_ you to them all, they know that he has their back. He's the bird on their shoulders, watching over.

...

Alright, Jason had to do something. And Tim was going in on it, too.

"Demon Spawn." Jason's sing-songy voice echoed through-out the cave.

"Hmm..?" His iced over glare lifted from the computer he was using, to his brother. "What?"

"We're goin' out. C'mon."

A wave a panic flooded through him. "Wait, it's night already? Patrol's right now? Shit." His brows were furrowed, and there was the softest hint of a frown replacing the thin line of his mouth. He was paused from his frantic grabbing by Tim, looking up into his worried eyes with his brow raised. "Calm it, Demon. There's no patrol. We just want to go on a stroll with you. You're working too hard, and obviously," He flicked his younger brother's head. "you're burnt out."

"Am not."

Jason flooded in, "Are too."

"Shut up."

"No."

"We're going out." Tim intervened before it turned into a fight. "Want me to invite Jon Kent?"

...

"Can it just be us?"

Holy _shit_. Damian Wayne just.. fuck it, no time to tease.

"Yeah, 'course, bud." Jason slammed his hand onto Damian's back, a glare being received by him. "We can talk about that new Parisian group coming to _W E _in a couple hours." They were currently walking out, reaching the car. Tim was driving, Jason was in the passenger seat, and Damian was in the back seat, on his phone. 

"So, basically, the group is from Dupont something. They're coming here 'cause of their class president, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, thought it'd be a good learning experience to come to the company. Honestly, her research report about it to convince her teacher is wonderful." _Somewhere in Paris, Marinette was sneezing._ "You should read it and take a break from your project. Better yet, don't do it at all! You remember you're the son of Bruce Wayne, right? You can do anything, like usual. So why is this project so different?"

"Because it sounded fun, dumbass."

"Yeah, but-"

"No, that's the end of story. It just.. sounded fun." He shrugged. "I was gonna quit it today. I miss sleeping."

"Nice. Anyways, back to my point. There's about ten students coming, since most of them have jobs. Dupain-Cheng is coming, though. She's your age." He wiggled his brows, trying to get something across. 

It got across, and a fight started in the car, along with swerving from Tim to stop it. They pulled over at a cafe, fixing the others' clothing and hair. Tim sighed, rubbing his temples. "Food? And, no business talk. That's for tomorrow." They gave him a look. "For you guys, at-least. I'll be off my phone, don't worry." 

And they headed into a cafe, where a fight started up. Of course, only the Bat Brother's are that lucky. But..

_ They have _ each-other.


	3. Packing and Venting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's packing.  
> And venting.  
> Max is there.  
> He has her secret.  
> She's okay with that.

_You can do this, Marinette._ The little voice in her head had gotten her into another position of where she had to overthink.

Max was sitting on her bed, staring at her with a frown as she got stuck in her own mind. _The girl's an amazing gamer, strategic, but.._ As Max examined her further, he spotted a scar on her lifted up sleeve. _Does she..?_

Before he could voice his thoughts, she started off with the world's most famous last words.

"I'm Ladybug."

A beat missed.

" _What?_ " He sounded.. disgusted? Confused? Trapped in his own head now? Maybe they had that in common.

"I.. am Ladybug.." She then let out a sigh, moving her bangs up as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I- I know, that makes no sense, but do you really think I'd lie about this? I mean, I know, I'm not the perfect person cut out to be Ladybug, I'm not even good enough to be friends with everyone. I don't deserve you to understand why I've been lying, keeping this a secret, for all this time, but- A- And, I- I mean, " She was starting to get nervous as he stared at her with an unreadable expression. "it doesn't make sense,-"

He cut her off.

"It makes perfect sense!"

Marinette's breath hitched, as she stared at the shorter boy.

"You run off at every Akuma attack! You have the same build, and your muscles. You obviously have rough hands, and that comes from fighting each day!" He said, as he stood up and gently grabbed her arm, which had some good muscle on it. "You both have the same hair color, skin color, hair-wearing, and you have the same voice and eyes! I just wish I saw this sooner.. Why did you tell me and not Alya or Nino?"

"Because they're going. You're not. You can alert me, and.. I need somebody to talk to."

The gamer rose a brow.

Marinette inhaled sharply. "Her and Nino are in a relationship, they need to worry about each-other. I can't tell my parents, because.. as of lately, they're not too.. fond.. of me. Plus, that'd make them a big target to Hawkmoth. I can't let that happen. Chat Noir, as you've noticed, is gone. I took his Miraculous, of which I'm wearing." She held up her right hand, showing off her ring finger with an opal-like ring shining on it. She then turned, continuing to talk, as she packed up important things she'd need. "He strayed too far, and he did a lot of bad things. It didn't reach the Media, thankfully, because I covered it up. Including the time he got akumatized, it was too.. risky.. Anyways, I just needed somebody I could trust so I can talk about everything going on. Nobody knows, and that's good. The more who knows, the more bodies. It's.. terrifying, but I trust you, and I trust your survival instincts, gamer or not." She paused to smile at him. "Because you're my friend."

Max took in a breath, before smiling as he pushed up his glasses. "Well, talk away. I'll ask questions and support by the end. Are you okay with that?"

She snorted, "Obviously." She then had a moment to figure out what to say, now that she could let it all go. It was as if her vocal cords tied itself around, making a knot, like earbuds in a pocket.

"I have P.T.S.D. I got it during the first fight with Stone-guy, and it worsened. Nobody could help me after that. I felt like I was trapped in a cage of my own karma. When I tried to tell somebody about it, I never got looked at seriously. I was only thirteen. _Thirteen_ , Max. I couldn't fight things like I was some adult, swinging through. Of course, I had my Kwami, Tikki, but she could only do so much. While you saw me smiling in class, or rambling off to myself about.. Adrien.. I was probably thinking about all the emergency exits in the school, and how many people were there. Slowly, I started to force myself to become different. I didn't want to be me anymore, I didn't want to _be here_. You all don't know how many times I watched you get your head cut off, or get stomped brutally into the ground.." She let out a shaky breath. Memories flooded back to her.

"I watched the entire world explode, only to bring it all back, as if nothing happened. Only _I_ remember. I get scars, too. I have a lot of them, including fresh and old bruises. I hide them all with my sweaters and pants, and it gets hot in the Summer, but nobody can know. None of these are self-inflicted. If I was selfish enough, if I didn't feel forced to have hid them, I wouldn't at all. When I had those bandages on, Max, when I was in the hospital, it wasn't because I got hit by a car." She swallowed thickly. "I was thrown into the ground, breaking the lot of my bones. I was lucky I could even _feel_. That I still had _organs_."

She felt two pairs of arms wrap around her, and her eyes shot open. She then relaxed, hugging back. Now, it was his turn to speak.

"I never thought Ladybug, who seemed so invincible, would go through that. I wish I remembered it all, so I could help you. But, destiny has a funny way of changing things, kind of like the game Destiny. Anyways, Mari, you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. In and out of the suit. I consider you my best friend. Not even Sabrina, my crush, can beat that. Lila has messed up _everything_ , so I can't blame you for wanting to get this out as quickly as possible. I'm not the best comforter, but I'm always here to listen. We can video-chat all the time, if you want, you champion gamer."

And with a small beat, he spoke with a strong tone,

" ** _Change the game. Don't let it change you._** "

...

She fell apart, sobbing in his arms. It was out of pure luck that her parents were asleep. Her best friend, second to Alya and Nino, held her tightly. Letting his own tears escape. She hadn't cried in front of anyone in a while, so it all came out in soft hiccups that she couldn't stop. All she knew was the he was soothing her mind, helping her escape from her the cage she had made, the religion of worshipping anything that came in front of her, so she could just sob.

She was glad she told him her secret.

She was glad she had a friend that knew.

She was glad she could fall apart.

A little while later, she was packing. He was also helping her, as she let out occassional watery laughs. The packing soon turned into a gaming night, and a sleepover.

That was the first good rest she had in a while.


	4. A Protective Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, fuck. That was Damien's first thoughts on what was happening in front of him.
> 
> Don't hurt me. That was Marinette's first thoughts on what was going to happen to her.
> 
> Why the hell am I/are you here?
> 
> That was both of their thoughts.
> 
> (By the way, French is used in this. Google Translate's awesome. I'll tell you what they say, so don't worry about it.)

A rather long while later, after saying goodbye to Max, Kim, and Sabrina- those who couldn't go- from the phone, she was now getting off the plane.

Marinette was walking with two people close by her sides. Nino was on her right, and Alya was on her left.

Since they weren't a target of Lila's or Adrien's, they figured that they could block anything that happened. It worked, for the most part.

Nino decided to pick up conversation, "Alors, dudettes, que faisons-nous aujourd'hui?" _So, dudettes, what are we doing now?_

Alya gave a harsh glare, "Ne m'appelle pas, ta copine, ça." She growled at her boyfriend, only to face forward as she responded to his question. "Aussi, je pense que Marinette devrait en décider, non? Après tout, elle nous a mis en contact avec ce traducteur si nous en rencontrions d'autres." _Do not call me, your girlfriend, that." "Also, I think Marinette should decide that, right? After all, she hooked us up with that translator if we run into others._  


The girl in question sighed. She was about to answer, before they passed a food court. She signalled for the teacher, whistling, and pointing toward it.

Only reason she did the food court?

The couple's stomachs had growled. Then, the said couple thanked her quickly, running to the food court.

She was now left with their suitcases.

Marinette sighed, shaking her head as she had a dopey smile gracing her features.

Until.

The smile was wiped off her face when she saw two people going toward her.

_Lila and Adrien._

.

.

.

Damien was bouncing his knee in the car as he stared at his phone.

He was looking up this.. 'Marinette Dupain-Cheng' girl.

His brothers had already started teasing when they realised this.

Jason was _fangirling_ , already thinking of nicknames for her.

"Alright! So, what should I call her?" The man in question tapped his chin.

Tim sighed heavily, "You don't even know how she acts, and you're trying to be all buddy buddy?"

Dick snorted, "It's his thing. Plus, the girl is pretty adorable. Probably not too bad."

Jason's fingers snapped, gaining even Damien's attention.

"I got it! Atom! 'Cause atoms are small, and she's legit 5'3!"

A heavy sigh, followed by laughter, filled the car. Bruce didn't know why he brought Jason now.

They were a couple minutes late, but it was better late than never. Bruce waked in first, followed by Dick, Tim, Jason, and Damien.

Dick and Tim were talking about business, while Jason kept punning around with an annoyed Damien. Bruce was looking for the group, holding up a hand to silence his sons, as he walked to Mme. Bustier.

After a couple minutes of learning that the students were eating, using a slow translator, they were starting to greet the students. A couple squealed, a couple didn't, and a couple just shrugged at the greeting and got back to what they were doing. Damien had mentally counted how many they talked to, and he came to the conclusion that around five students were missing. He told his father this, so.. now? They were kind of hunting.

It was Gotham, after all. A kidnapping was fairly common, and that was a sad truth.

.

A beat missed.

.

(A/N: Lila and Adrien know english, so they switched to that. They still have a heavy accent.)

A hand meeting the side of a face sounded through the, almost empty- this was a private airport, of course, but workers and some other people could use it, heroes, businessmen, etc-, airport. Followed by a sharp cry of pain, and a couple thuds of luggage, followed by a body.

Damien and Bruce were the first to react, followed by the others.

Though, unlike Bruce, Damien was the first to get in a protective stance in front of a strangely familiar girl.

"Get the fuck out of my way." The blonde guy spoke up with an angry tone. He had a good build, but not too much. Noting that this was probably an Agreste, due to how much he actually looks like Gabriel Agreste, Damien wasn't worried too much.

"Why should I?"

"Because I fucking said so." That got a snort out of Damien.

"Think it's funny, bitch!? What are you laughing about!?" That was a female's voice, a brunette next to the blonde.

"Hi. I'm Damien Wayne. I don't think anything's funny." That shut them up real quick. "And, if you'll excuse yourselves, I have something more important to attend to." He tilted his head back slightly, referring to the girl on the ground, carressing, with tears, the offended part of her face. The two booked it, getting harsh looks from the family.

Damien turned, and _now_ he knew why she looked so familiar. It was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

.

.

.

Marinette stared up. The conversation, other than him introducing himself, was all fogged up.

Great.

Her first impression, and it was getting slapped.

Perfect.

Now he was looking at her with his brows furrowed, holding his hand out to her.

She hesitantly took it, and he helped her up. She felt his hand slowly grasp around her right wrist, which had the hand that was holding her face, and he took it down.

As he scanned it over, she could practically _see_ the anger seeping from his soul. It was interrupted when Jason booked it over, squealing as he picked her up and started to spin her as quickly as possible.

"Hi Atom!" "OhmyGod! You're so _cute_!" "I'm going to adopt you. Is that okay? Of course it is, I'm the best parent."

Marinette's eyes widened, quite a bit. She couldn't help the pink slowly shading her entire body. (A/N: No, she does not like Jason, obviously it's Daminette, but you'd blush too if someone called you cute.)

"A- Atome..?" She tried. She really did. Her head cocked to the side in slight confusion. ("A- Atom..?")

"Yeah! Atoms are small, and cute, and you're small and cute! It fits so well!"

Marinette and Damien couldn't help but feel like that it was going to be a rather long day.

But..

_That seemed okay now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, they met.  
> Isn't that fun?  
> And yo, rip Lila and Adrien tbh
> 
> ~Regards,  
> Toaster


	5. Intoductions, Mother-henning, and.. A POOL!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's day kept getting weirder.
> 
> The Wayne family adored her,
> 
> her nickname was Atom,
> 
> and the hotel had a pool.
> 
> Which meant she had to go or it'd be suspicious. 
> 
> Which meant..
> 
> her scars are on display.
> 
> Well, fuck.

After Jason _finally_ put her down, he introduced himself and the rest of his family.

"I'm Jason Todd! That's Bruce Wayne," Pointing. "Tim Drake," Pointing. "Dick Grayson," Another pointing. "and, as you know, Damian Wayne." He wiggled his brows.

Marinette flushed red for a moment, before clearing up with a bright smile on her face. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" She responded cheerfully, as she pointed to a couple- who were eating nachos- at the table. It was a good bit of walking distance, and they seemed to be in their own little world. "Nino and Alya."

"No last name?" Tim asked, with a brow raised.

"I don't count their last names. Alya said she wanted him to take her last name when they get married, but he wants her to take his. So, they're kinda just.. a couple that has no last name until they marry each-other." She giggled.

Jason grinned widely, "I want to adopt you."

Marinette tilted her head to the side, before smiling warmly. It made their hearts melt. "I think that'd be a fantastic idea, if I get Mrs. Dupa- my,- my parents permission."

The family's eyes narrowed.

That's when she realized something.

_She stuttered when addressing her parents._

Jason went to open his mouth, only to be cut off by footsteps. "Girl! Did you already bump into- HOLY SHIT THAT'S BRU-"

"-ce Wayne, I know." Marinette cut her off.

Tim Drake's gaze bored into Marinette, trying to figure her out. He made it obvious, but it wasn't like the girl and her friends were paying attention. They were bickering playfully. His eyes widened, and his mouth lightly gaped open, when he saw _bandages_ under her slightly lifted sleeve.

Then he saw a scar wringing around her neck, and she had tried to- failing, but not failing to the point her friends couldn't see it- block it out with her hair.

He started brainstorming, how would he get her to reveal that? He couldn't just walk up to her and say, 'Yo take off your shirt'. That'd be.. _weird_.

"Guys," He was struck with an idea.

They turned, except for the bickering voice, and Tim continued. "they have a pool at that hotel, right?"

Jason gave his brother a look. "Are you into ped-"

" _No_." He hissed out. He then nudged his head toward Marinette, and his gaze laid upon the slightly lifted sleeve of hers, then to her neck.

They followed his gaze, and Bruce answered first. "Yes, they do. Are you proposing what I believe you are, Tim?"

He nodded.

Dick sighed, "Possible abuse?"

The rest of everything didn't go into Damian's ears. He had his eyes trained onto the girl in question, an unknown feeling of.. possessiveness?.. was in his eyes. He didn't know why he wanted to beat the ever-loving shit out of someone for messing with her, and half of his brain was like 'Go for it'.

Jason noticed this, and nudged his brother. "We'll find out, bud. Don't worry about it. For now, just act like we're finding Nemo in a pool." He winked at his younger brother, who was becoming a shade of red.

Jason Todd grinned, as wide as possible, and yelled. " Oh my God, _he feels_!"

The family started laughing, including Alya, but Nino and Marinette stared in confusion. That was, until a yelp was heard.

Alya had tackled Marinette down. "How did you get this slap mark!? Did one of them hurt you!? Are you okay!?"

"Adrien," _I deserved it._ "No." _Why didn't they?_ "Of course." _No, I'm not. Please help me. God please._

Alya had murmured a couple things, before getting off, helping Marinette up, and clinging to her. Nino snorted. "As much as you guys love your _girl on_ _girl_ action, I'd like to have my girlfriend back."

Jason laughed.

Tim snorted.

Damian grinned.

Dick sighed.

Bruce was.. amused.

Alya was pissed and starting to diss Nino.

And Marinette?

She was as red as can be.

.

.

.

A little while later, they were heading to the hotel. Bruce and Dick had went with the entire class, while Damian and Tim followed the early birds, Nino, Alya, and Marinette.

Randomly, Tim started to interrupt their current conversation- as he had been silent for most of the time, "Wanna go swimming after this?"

The brothers noted how Nino and Alya lit up, all excited, while Marinette's breath hitched and she feigned excitement.

"Yeah! Totally! Oh, girl, you have _got_ to wear that new swimsuit you made yourself. And, after that, we should show them your Gotham work! Oh my God, they'd love it." Alya rambled on, all excited, before Damien interrupted.

"You make clothing?"

Marinette's eyes lit up. "Oh! Yes! I do! You might have heard of me, as M,-"

Before she could even try to finish, they reached the hotel. "Oh. Guess you'll find out later!"

Alya grabbed her arm, "C'mon, girl! Lets go! I wanna change before them!" She looked over her shoulder. "Nino! Make sure to grab my extra suitcase!"

Nino nodded, before the two girls were in the hotel, checked in, and in their rooms changing.

"I'm not coming out."

"Yes, you are."

"Alya, you.. you won't like what you see, trust me.. I,-"

"Come out, or I'll knock down the door."

A small beat passed, and Marinette walked out the door.

"Marine.." Alya scanned the smaller girl.

How could someone so _small_ be covered in _so many_ scars..?

Scars decorated her skin, some large and small. With the slight gap in the one-part swimsuit, it showed off a bit of her stomach, which had a large, very much healing, wound. Her legs and arms were covered, along with her back, and, lastly, her collarbone.

Before Alya could stop herself, she sobbed out Marinette's name- practically a screech- and draped herself over her friend.

A friend that has a lot of explaining to do after swimming.

.

They were walking down, their tears long gone- thanks to Comfort Marinette-, with their arms linked.

Now, on with their swimsuits.

Alya's was a two piece, a slight skirt around the waist, and it was Rena Rouge style.

Marinette's was a one piece, her back- slightly her shoulders blades- shown. She had a slight gap in said swimsuit, showing off her belly button and a bit more of her torso- kind of an oval shape. And?

_It had the Justice League symbol._

As they walked out, Marinette could feel their gazes even though she wasn't looking at them.

She could only hope she wouldn't have to explain. Apparently, she would.

-

Damien couldn't help but stare, so did Jason and Tim.

It wasn't, for Damien, that she was immensly attractive, but it was the scars. They were littered all over her pale skin.

Tim was at a loss for words, glancing at a security camera, it would have proof. Some things needed to be talked about back at the Bat Cave.

Jason was the only one who tried to act normal.

He put a big grin on his face and ran toward her, picking her up and twirling her around. "You got the Justice League on your swimsuit! Damn! A fan?" He chirped his question.

Marinette nodded, "My favorites are _Robin_ , Batman, and Superman. Aquaman is somewhere on there, too."

 _Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit **holyshit**_. That was what was going on through one Damien Wayne's head.

She liked Robin.

She indirectly said she liked him.

Why is his heart beating this fast?

Why does she have all these scars?

Why does she have to get picked on?

What time is it?

What year is it?

Fuck it, what's life?

Marinette's cute.

Fuck, Damian, don't think that.

_Okay, maybe she's a little cute.._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tO Be CoNTinUeD-
> 
> Oh, yeah, changed the title. Do you like it or would you prefer the old one?  
> Tell me in the comments below!
> 
> As usual, have a fantastic day.
> 
> ~Love,  
> Toaster


	6. Shenanigans, Indeed. Flirting? Yes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I mean the only thing I want to see in the next chapter is a combination of cute, badass, and flustered Marinette. Flustered Damian. Some flirting. Alya and Nino being dumbasses along with the Bat Fam, and a whole lot of shennanigans."
> 
> Iceblue, here you go.
> 
> Flirting.
> 
> Flustered.
> 
> Shenanigans, I guess.

A bit after everyone put themselves together, they were swimming, diving, and.. Marinette was about to jump onto Jason's shoulders and swan dive into the pool.

Tim groaned, "Jason, this isn't a good idea. What if she hits the edge?"

Alya snorted, "Timmy," She started off with a new nickname. "you have no idea. She climbed the fuckin' school roof and flipped into a tree."

Jason grinned widely, "See? It's safe!"

Damian and Nino sighed. _Idiots_.

Something in Damian's mind interrupted that, as his eyes trailed to Marinette that was backing up to get a running start. _That's one cute idiot_.

He then flopped into the water, drenching Nino and Alya. " _Hey_!" Came a girly screech. Obviously, Alya. "What was that for!?"

Tim started to snicker, before that was interrupted with footsteps. Marinette wasn't walking yet, stretching, so who was.. _Fuck_.

Now, Marinette was walking, before bursting into a run. She jumped into the air, right as Dick and Bruce turned the corner, landing on Jason's shoulders, and pushing herself off. She flipped in the air for a moment, then she moved herself quickly into position, and yes, she swan dived in.

She also dragged Damian down with her.

While they were under, she looked underneath her, Damian was staring at her wide-eyed, and she booped his nose.

She could've sworn that his face became a deep shade of _red_.

.

Tim sighed, while they were under, might as-well get information.

"Where did she get those scars?" Alya's breath hitched.

"We.. don't know."

Dick kicked in, "How do you _not_ know?"

Nino huffed, "We mean we do not know how the fuck she got those scars because she did not tell us. Do you get that?" The DJ was rather pissed off, now.

Jason sighed, "Listen. We have to look into it. Do one of you at least know if she has any issues at home?"

Right as Nino opened his mouth to say no, his girlfriend spoke in a small tone. "Kind of. She's.. not allowed to call them her parents. She always addresses them as Mrs. and Mr. Dupain-Cheng. We already thought about it, and- to confirm it- we went to the bakery, and.. they acted as if she didn't even _exist_ , and when they did? They'd act as if she did everything wrong.. and-"

The two came back up, and when they did, Tim gave Alya a short look. _We'll talk about it later_. She nodded.

.

When they swam back up, she flipped her hair out of her face, and? She winked at Damian.

The Bat-Fam noticed that.

Very much notice.

Jason started laughing like he was insane, falling into the water, dragging a snorting Tim with him.

Dick was trying to hold back his own laughter, while Bruce lifted a brow and smiled just a bit.

Damian?

Well.

His mind was going crazy;

_Did she just wink at me?_

_Am I crazy?_

_Yeah, crazy for her._

_Woah, bro, I just met her._

_She's attractive, though._

_Why not flirt back?_

_No, that'd be a Grayson move._

_But would it?_

So, he did it.

Despite not being touchy-touchy toward most people, he looked over to Marinette with a grin on his face.

His brothers noticed that, but they didn't say anything.. yet.

"Hey, Marinette?"

"Yep?"

"Hold out your arm."

"..Why?"

Jason kicked in, "Just do it, Atom!"

Marinette groaned, swam over a bit so she could get a bit closer, and she held out her arm.

The glint in his eyes told her that it was a _horrible_ idea.

He grabbed her arm, pulling it so it was resting on his shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

_He fucking winked._

Bruce cleared his throat, Dick couldn't hold it and laughed, Alya snapped pictures, Nino hollered, Jason also snapped pictures, Tim was talking about making a bet of which one would confess.

Marinette was malfunctioning. Her entire body was just- red.

Damian was grinning widely, but he was also red. Don't worry, he's malfunctioning to.

Until they realized Bruce was there.

They separated and swam in different directions like bats outta hell. Well, in this case, a bat and a ladybug outta hell.

Bruce smiled at them, before speaking, "You three should go to your rooms. Your class is already unpacking, so you should see who your roommate is."

Alya nodded, grabbing Nino and dragging him off. Marinette awkwardly snaked past Bruce.

Oh, and?

Alya shouted from the hall, "I better not wake up to Damian sneaking into Marinette's room! Keep him on a leash!"

Lets take a look into the Bat-Family's minds.

Bruce: _Am I sure this is my son?_

Dick: _I actually have a leash, though._

Tim: _As funny as this is, we need to focus on the more important things.. After Damian gets teased a bit. I'm such a great brother._

Jason: _Wait.. is he.. Oh my God! He feels!_

Damian: ~~Cricket noises~~

Dick slapped Damian on the back, "Good job. You pulled a me." 

Jason snorted. "That was _SMOOTH,_ though- Just, take her arm, grab her hips, you're a natural!" Before Jason could say anything else, Tim decided to end this.

"We have to focus."

Bruce raised a brow, and so did the older brothers- Damian was broken. He took this as his moment to continue.

"Why the actual hell does she have those scars? She looks as though she was in thousands of fights. We need to keep an eye on her. Including that blonde freak and the sausage haired ones."

So, now, it was a personal mission.

Stay as close as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this is short.  
> I'm going to post another chapter soon to make up for that!  
> There will be some..  
> investigating..  
> in the next chapter.
> 
> Marinette Dupain-Cheng?  
> Nah.  
> Marinette Kent?  
> Fuck yeah.


	7. Gunshots, Fighting, and..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry, Marinette.
> 
> Very.
> 
> But this gets me.. 'content'.
> 
> That's how it goes...
> 
> *Damian glaring in the background*

How did it come to _this_?

Such an innocent little day.

She wished she never woke up at this point.

**Woah, woah, wait.**

**You need to know what happened.**

**Alright..**

**Let's go to the start of this.**

**Rewind.**

Marinette and Alya had finished cleaning up, going to bed late.

She was so lucky to have a best friend such as Alya.

Alya didn't even _try_ to pry anything out of Marinette, only watching movies and playing chess.

Sadly, they couldn't stay up all night, so they went to sleep..

It was _five in the morning_ , when all of it went to hell.

All of the hotel was awoken to gunshots, and bloodcurdling screeches complying with it.

Marinette flew up, forgetting she wasn't Ladybug, and she ran toward the door- hoping to any Gods and Goddesses that existed, like Tikki and Plagg, that they weren't on their floor yet.

Why?

Because, of course, _the first mistake_.

Alya screamed.

That alerted the outside.

Marinette let out a whimper of panic, rushing toward her friend's bed, clapping a hand over her mouth.

Shushing her in the most gentle way possible, as she prayed.

She prayed harder than she had ever done before.

Her prays were cast aside, into the depths of the abyss, when loud banging sounded.

"Open the fuck up, or your fucking friends get hurt, mutts!" It was a gruff voice, obviously a man. Probably in his early thirties.

Marinette whispered, as soft and quiet as possible, "Follow my lead.. Please.. Trust me.."

Alya, hesitantly, placed her life into her best friend's hands.

They walked out of the door, their hands up and behind their heads.

The man roughly handled them, forcing them to into a little circle with the rest of the class.

She noted a couple things.

None of them were hurt, yet they were terrified. Probably a ransom, not a kill streak, situation.

It was all men.

Their guns were AK-47's. Nothing else. Automatic kinda guys, she guessed.

Fourth of all, they were staring at her- probably because of her calm expression, they, being eight men. She could take them down, she just.. needed a distraction.

"What do you think you're doing?" A cold tone flooded the tension of the air, most of the men stiffened, while the others fought to remain strong.

Ah, yes, a perfect distraction.

Batman, Nightwing, and Red Hood were standing there, as Robin came the other way, and she guessed, Red Robin being who he was, was watching the cams. Yes, she had looked them up.

Nightwing held a scowl on his face, Batman had a line, Red Hood had a grin, and she would bet a hundred dollars that Robin had the worst scowl of them all. He was said to be rather.. cold.

"We want fucking _thousands of dollars_ , or.." The 'leader' turned, grinning at another, before Marinette was snatched from the group, dragged up front. That didn't go as planned. "..this pretty lil' thing," He licks his lips as he pushes the gun, rubbing the barrel against her head. "is goin' to Hell."

They stiffened, as Red Hood's grin disappeared.

"Money for a life, sounds perfect, don't it?"

His hand snaked.. weirdly.. around her waist.

"But of course, there's always more _uses_ , ain't there?" Was he implying what she thought he was implying?

A squeeze of her outer-thigh confirmed it.

She was trembling, out of actual _fear_.

Then, anger.

Batman was about to open his mouth, before Marinette had growled.

"If I'm going to fucking Hell, I can't wait to see you as fucking room service."

Before the guy could retort, she thrust her leg back, kicking him where the sun didn't shine. She didn't back down, though, as she twirled around, her leg lifting up to wrap, as if a vice, around his neck. She then flipped sideways, sending him into the ground, and her onto her feet, with his gun.

She slammed it into the nearest man's head, and that's about time that the Bats worked their ways to help her out.

Batman went after two, Robin was already done with the others, while Redhood and Nightwing helped the students out.

Marinette panted, as she shivered. She wished she didn't wear shorts. Maybe then the feeling of his cold hand wouldn't tingle on the surface of her skin.

Another nightmare to add to the list, perhaps?

She then came back to her senses when Alya shook her, cautiously, "Are.." She swallowed thickly. "Are you a- alright, girl..?" Her tone was like a whimper.

She was about to respond, so close to it, before a gun was cocked. Without even thinking, she shoved Alya and herself down. A shot and a thud rang out, as Marinette lay on top of Alya, in a protective manner.. a human body shield- no, a _bleeding_ human body shield.

Her leg was bleeding, badly.

She could process Alya's mouth moving, probably screaming.

She could process the ringing in her ears, and the fatigue.

What she could not process was her class calling her name, and Red Hood picking her up from the ground.

By then?

Her eyes had rolled to the back of her head.

She fell into a familiar warmth, she felt like she was swimming in clouds.

She fell into an abyss, a warm abyss, that she welcomed calmly.

_Not because she wanted to die._

_But because,_

_she couldn't do anything but accept it._

Chemicals filled her sub-conscious, as-well as a beeping sound.  


_Where am I?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say is..
> 
> Sorry, Marinette.
> 
> Oh, and, should I do Damian's POV about all this? Or the aftermath?
> 
> Tell me dOWn BelOW(God, that sounds YouTuber-ish).
> 
> ~Love,  
> Toaster


	8. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we will be facing difficulties of blood-types.
> 
> While I don't know Marinette's real bloodtype, I had decided since the start that she was AB-.
> 
> So, with that, we need to bring military personnel to donate blood.
> 
> Why would she need blood if they only shot her leg?
> 
> Read to find out.
> 
> (Sorry Mari-)

The soft beep of the machines keeping Marinette steady echoed through the room.

The important people were there.

Important people being, Alya, Nino, Damian, Jason, Tim, and Dick.

Bruce had a meeting, and he hated hospitals.

Alya, Jason, Dick, and Damian looked the worst out of the six.

Bags under their eyes, their skin slightly paler, and they looked as if they saw a war flash into their minds.

With the echoes of the gunshots ringing in Alya's head, she shakily continued to hold a cold hand which lay limply on the white sheets.

"H- How.." A raspy voice came from Alya, "did it go.. from swimming.. l- late.. late-night television b- binging, to.." She started crying again. " _th- this_?"

Jason was staring at the girl in the bed.

She looked.. _small_ and _vulnerable_.

Of course, the girl was short, but with the machines hooked up to her, a tube _shoved_ down her throat, she looked smaller than an ant.

And she looked dead.

So, so, so _pale_. _Cold_.

Right as Nino was about to speak up, to comfort his love, the doctor knocked gently on the door.

They stiffened, looking up to the female doctor, seemingly in her forties. "I apologize for interrupting anything."

Damien spoke up immediately. "No, no, no, you- you aren't interrupting anything."

She smiled softly, before her expression darkened, her gaze shifting to the one in the bed.

Tim didn't like that look.

Actually, nobody did.

So, he spoke up. Tim spoke in a cautious voice, "What's.. Why so many machines? I mean, what's- why- I-" Tim Drake was tongue-tied.

The brothers would have teased.

If only they had the energy.

The doctor let out a sigh.

"I was getting to that." She shifted, flipping her notebook. "Now, I'm going to guess you want me to break it down to everything in the simplest manner?" They nodded. "Alright." She sighed, "So, where she was shot was.. fatal. Yes, it was a leg, but your upper legs have something called the 'femoral artery' in them. It sort of winds around the thigh bone, and it's pretty big. If the bullet hits that, which it did, she could've bled to death in the space of a few minutes. While she was bleeding, she was extremely close to death's door, and she went into hypovolemic shock. Hypovolemic shock is a life-threatening condition that results when you lose more than 20 percent, or one fifth, of your body's blood or fluid supply. This severe fluid loss makes it impossible for the heart to pump a sufficient amount of blood to your body. Obviously, she got over that, but her heart is still having a difficulty pumping the right amount of blood. Bruce Wayne has already ordered for a search within the military for AB- blood, and we found a match, and they will be arriving within.." The doctor checked her watch. "seven hours. Are there any questions?"

Alya stared at her best friend in shock, as did Damian, Jason, and Dick.

Nino and Tim shook their heads narrowly.

The doctor nodded, "It would be great if you could all leave the room. I'm going to be injecting her with some more painkillers."

Nino lifted a brow, "Why? Isn't she like- sleeping? She can't feel anything, right?"

"It's for in case she wakes up a little earlier." The doctor explained. "She could go through a.." She looked cautiously, "..'pain shock'. She'd freak out and we'd have to sedate her."

Nino winced, wishing he'd never asked, before nodding. 

Only five left the room; Jason stayed.

The doctor was about to force him out, before Damian turned. "Touch him, and _I will hurt you_." 

She nodded, furrowing her brows, as she shut the door. 

Jason stayed leaned against the wall, watching as the doctor put the needle in Marinette's leg, then into her neck, before leaving.

The five came back, and all they could do was sit helplessly at Marinette's side.

Alya. _I'm sorry I screamed. _

Nino. _ I'm sorry I wasn't there._

Damian. _I'm sorry I didn't take out that guy._

Tim. _I'm sorry I didn't see him._

Dick. _I 'm sorry I didn't move._

Jason. _ I'm sorry I didn't get you here in time. _

_ Forgive us, pl ease.. _

_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I searched up a lot of things, and I'm not an actual doctor, so don't @ me if something is wrong.
> 
> Made sense to me, honestly.
> 
> Anyways, Jason and Damian's POV will be out tomorrow!
> 
> For now, enjoy this chapter!
> 
> ~Love,  
> Toaster  
> (P.S., I'm sorry Marinette)


	9. Jason's Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will focus on Jason's output on both chapters seven and eight.
> 
> Yes, Damian will have his own chapter, but I decided to do Jason's first, and it will be out soon.
> 
> But.
> 
> For now,
> 
> Jason needs a bit of POV.

"So, Damian.." Jason's voice was full of mischief. "You pulled _that_ move on her? Wow. She must really be somethin', right boys?"

Tim snorted, "Careful, you're sounding like Catwoman. _RiGht BoYs_?"

The brothers had a laugh, before it went back to teasing.

Bruce sighed, his sons.. were less than tolerable at the moment.

But, he loved them anyway.

An alert sounded on Bruce's phone, and the sons fell silent.. except for Jason, he was still giggling.

Causing his brothers to giggle a bit.

"Hello?" Bruce answered, and if looks could kill; damn, Bruce would have no sons left.

He then sat up straight, his eyes wide. "Wha- Alfred, calm it. What's goi- Joker..?"

That got the boys silent, their bodies stiff.

"Alright. Alright, thank you. We'll be back to the manor soon." He hung up.

Dick sounded out first, "What the fuck?"

Bruce sighed, "Joker's back on the move. He broke out. His tracker was taken out today by some.. 'tattoo artist'. The artist is currently under arrest, but Joker is nowhere to be seen."

.

.

.

Jason, as Red Hood, was patrolling around Gotham with his two brothers and father, Robin, Nightwing, and Batman.

Red Robin, Tim, was currently at base, watching the CCTV's at the hotel; they'd been trying to keep a close eye on it due to the class staying there.

And also because they had a liking to Marinette, Alya, and Nino.

Alya and Tim clicked since they both loved investigating, Nino and Dick clicked, and then you got Marinette- she clicked with all of them, not gonna lie.

Besides that, it was a rather silent night. Which, for citizens, it was great; for the Bat Family? Not so much.

A calm before the storm, you could say.

" _HOLY SHIT_!" Tim's screech came from over the radio. "Get to the hotel the class is staying at! Joker's fucking bitches are there!"

Jason and Damian were already running, while Bruce's gruff tone came from over the radio. "What's going on?" Dick turned to his father, receiving a nod, before he ran off as-well.

"No time to brief you." He was struggling to keep his voice under control. "Just get to the hotel. Those motherfuckers have AK-47's." That was all Bruce needed, running quickly toward the hotel.

.

Jason had slid in first, scrambling to get into the hall. He needed to get there. No, he didn't have romantic feelings, but he still cared quite a bit for the three in this class.

The three that seemed so bright.

They needed to be safe.

They had to be.

To any God that existed, they _had_ to be.

Batman slid in front, Robin found another way around to get in from behind, and Nightwing was side by side with Red Hood.

_There's no time to be Jason._

_You have to be Red Hood._

He forced a grin on his face, but it was almost burnt off at the sight of the class being crowded together, men grinning widely.

And the worst of it all, they were eyeing Marinette.

And with the way his brother and father are tensed up, they know what will go down.

So, Jason watched, feeling helpless, as the strange man snaked his arm around Marinette's waist.

He watched this _bitch_ violate something so _innocent_.

And there was no going back for what she did next.

When she took out two men by herself in simple movements, his strained grin became real.

She was going to be safe.

And everything would be fine.

Until, it wasn't.

He had taken out few men, trying to keep his eye on the students. When they thought that they had won, he watched Alya dart from the circle of students, and into her best friend's arms.

Jason could've cried out in relief for this, seeing them unharmed; mentally scarred, but not physically. **(A/N: Spoke too soon, bud.)**

Then, only then, did he notice that there was a man.

He darted, only a couple feet away.

_If only I was faster._

Marinette had shoved herself and Alya to the ground; Marinette used herself as a human body shield.

_If only I got there in time._

Red Hood shoved the man down, as he quickly grabbed Marinette from the ground.

Robin knocked the man out, but he couldn't focus on that.

He watched her body convulse around in his arms, blood gushing from her leg.

_If only I was better at this job._

Red Hood- no, Jason gripped onto her wound, trying to block some blood from moving with his gloved hand; failing, obviously. He was never good in Medic School, after all.

He rushed her into the hospital, _screaming_ for a doctor, nurse, anything.

He watched her get taken away, covered in her blood.

The stench of all the chemicals drowned him, consumed him.

He stood there until his father picked him up, and carried him out. Later, on the News, it was said that he had also gotten wounded to protect the girl.

That was a lie.

That girl was a fucking hero.

And he couldn't even say anything about it.

.

.

.

The hospital was such a sad place to be in.

The last time he was here, he had gotten hurt pretty bad; faked his death, to.

He stared at the little body in the bed.

She had to go through two different surgeries, one could only be preformed when they get her enough blood. He didn't understand that, though. Didn't her heart give her enough of that? Apparently not.

They got the bullet out of her leg, but it wasn't safe enough to do any other bits of surgery to fix an artery in her leg.

Legs had arteries?

He was the only one allowed in for a while, since nobody dared to let him leave.

Soon enough, the floodgates opened, and it wasn't just him at her side anymore.

Flashes of her wound, her blood, filled his mind; infecting it with such a high dosage.

He heard every word the doctor said, but he couldn't catch a hold of it.

It all..

felt numb.

_I only knew you for a day._

_Don't die, please._

_I'm sorry._

_Please forgive me._

_I couldn't stop the blood._

_I wanted to._

_I wish I could give you my blood._

_I want to._

_I want to so bad._

_I didn't save your life._

_I made it worse._

_You're in pain._

_I'm_ _sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hurt me for hurting both of the beans,- 
> 
> Oh, weird fun fact, I'm eating a blueberry jollyrancher.
> 
> ~Love,  
> Toaster


	10. Author's Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.

_Hey guys._

_I know this was supposed to be Damian's chapter, but I can't do it today._

_It will be up tomorrow._

_Thank you for being patient._

_My mind is really hurting, and so am I._

_Love you._

_~Toaster._


	11. Damian's Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian had only let guilt take over once in his life.
> 
> Now, he had guilt for the girl in the hospital bed.
> 
> He had only known her for a day.
> 
> What has the world come to?

"So, Damian.." Jason's voice was full of mischief. "You pulled _that_ move on her? Wow. She must really be somethin', right boys?"

Tim snorted, "Careful, you're sounding like Catwoman. _RiGht BoYs_?"

The brothers had a laugh, before it went back to teasing.

Bruce sighed, his sons.. were less than tolerable at the moment.

But, he loved them anyway.

An alert sounded on Bruce's phone, and the sons fell silent.. except for Jason, he was still giggling.

Causing his brothers to giggle a bit.

"Hello?" Bruce answered, and if looks could kill; damn, Bruce would have no sons left.

He then sat up straight, his eyes wide. "Wha- Alfred, calm it. What's goi- Joker..?"

That got the boys silent, their bodies stiff.

"Alright. Alright, thank you. We'll be back to the manor soon." He hung up.

Dick sounded out first, "What the fuck?"

Bruce sighed, "Joker's back on the move. He broke out. His tracker was taken out today by some.. 'tattoo artist'. The artist is currently under arrest, but Joker is nowhere to be seen."

.

.

.

Jason, as Red Hood, was patrolling around Gotham with his two brothers and father, Robin, Nightwing, and Batman.

Red Robin, Tim, was currently at base, watching the CCTV's at the hotel; they'd been trying to keep a close eye on it due to the class staying there.

And also because they had a liking to Marinette, Alya, and Nino.

Alya and Tim clicked since they both loved investigating, Nino and Dick clicked, and then you got Marinette- she clicked with all of them, not gonna lie.

Besides that, it was a rather silent night. Which, for citizens, it was great; for the Bat Family? Not so much.

A calm before the storm, you could say.

" _HOLY SHIT_!" Tim's screech came from over the radio. "Get to the hotel the class is staying at! Joker's fucking bitches are there!"

Jason and Damian were already running, while Bruce's gruff tone came from over the radio. "What's going on?" Dick turned to his father, receiving a nod, before he ran off as-well.

"No time to brief you." He was struggling to keep his voice under control. "Just get to the hotel. Those motherfuckers have AK-47's." That was all Bruce needed, running quickly toward the hotel.

.

Damian ran side by side with Jason. He was a bit off on his running because of his mind scrambling eggs, but he was trying.

Maybe he shouldn't do this, and just go on patrol..

Or he should do this and completely and utterly destroy anything that tried to hurt that class.

He switched to go inside of the back of the hotel, as that was the normal movement. He was sneakier than all of them combined, so it made sense.

Damian soon found his way around, after dragging a couple people to a closet, and appeared behind the group, with a regular scowl on his features.

He would've smiled if it wasn't a part of his character that he never smiled.

. (A/N: Sorry for the skip, I just- can't do that right now.)

They were at the hospital, and it couldn't have been more bland.

He had a regular scowl, but his eyes showed soft grief over the loss of a smile that he could've grown accustomed to.

The sun was missing from this group. More so, both of the suns. Jason and Marinette.

He could still remember the gun, every jagged edge, every scratch on it, and the blood that splattered, painting it a crimson color that he hated to see.

He felt bad for Jason, really. He had comforted his older brother when he came to the manor to change.

Actually, they comforted each-other, but who's counting that?

They asked a couple questions, comforted each-other, before a doctor came in.

He was unresponsive after that, only staring at the girl in the bed.

The girl was so bright, flowing with life, like a mini Jason, but now she looked as if she was burnt out.

The life had been drained out of her entire being.

Pale.

Dead looking.

Vulnerable.

The doctor ushered them out, and he left last. He knew Jason was going to stay.

Once he heard a grunt of anger from the female doctor, he turned and snapped.

"Touch him, and _I will hurt you_." He growled out.

His anger was obeyed, before he walked out, leaving Jason in there.

Once, only once, did he ever let guilt consume him; that was when he was handed over to Bruce.

Now it was going to be twice.

_I'm sorry._

_I can't comfort him._

_I can't do anything right._

_I'm sorry I killed people._

_I'm sorry I'm an idiot when it comes to this._

_I'm sorry about a lot of things._

_Including this._

_I should've been there to take out that guy._

_I need to work on my fucking agility._

_I'm sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, been a second.
> 
> I decided to get this out there as soon as possible.
> 
> I'm sorry that it's so short, but I can't brainstorm.
> 
> Another chapter will be out tomorrow, and it'll- obviously- be about Marinette.
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me.
> 
> You all are amazing.
> 
> ~Love,  
> Toaster


	12. Blood PT.2; Waking Up And.. "What's going on at home?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's head hurt.
> 
> Badly.
> 
> But her leg hurt worse.
> 
> Her first reaction was to scream.
> 
> So, she did.

Marinette's eyes felt as though they were taped shut.

Why did it feel that way? Where was she?

She took a moment to listen to her surroundings; she heard voices.

They were too clogged out for her to hear them.

Soon, her sense of feeling came back to her.

She had something shoved down her throat.

Her heart beat raised a little bit.

She heard the monitors, she was in a hospital?

Her leg.

Her head.

That hurt.

_Oh God, that hurts._

_STOP._

_Where am I!?_

_What's going on!?_

Her heart beat raised _more_ than a little bit.

She screeched the best she could with a.. something- maybe a tube?.. down her throat.

She felt her body move around on it's own accord, convulsing.

Pairs of hands tried to grab her, to hold her down, and her eyes flew open; getting blinded by the light.

Then, she felt a needle go into her neck; and her body went back to being limp.

.

.

.

Now, she felt cold.

This was.. her second time waking up?

She, testily, swallowed saliva, to see if the tube was still there.

It wasn't.

That made her a tad happier.

She could hear her own heart beating in her chest, alongside the soft beeping of a machine next to her.

Marinette, with a slight struggle, opened her eyes a second time.

She couldn't speak, she knew that for sure.

Her throat felt too raw.

She was met with the sight of Alya, who let out a whimper of.. excitement, or sadness. She couldn't pinpoint which.

"Mari? Girl? You with me?" Her voice was so shaky, so _small_. She wanted to lift up to give her a hug.

Slowly, she reached up, deciding the best way to do this, and gave her a soft pat on the head.

Alya started sobbing, as-well as a male voice. _Jason..?_

She shifted her head weakly, and- sure enough- Jason was sobbing at her bedside. He was practically _begging_ for forgiveness.

Marinette didn't know what she had to forgive, but she moved her other hand up onto his head.

Whatever it was,

she forgave him.

She soon retracted her hands to try and get up, only to be gently pushed back down by Alya and Jason.

"Do.. you remember anything?" Jason, cautiously, asked her.

She thought for a moment, before her mind misted her with what had happened that night. 

She replied with a stiff nod.

Alya sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Y- You've been out for.. two days. They said it was from lack of sleep from.. before that.. _incident_."

They soon filled her in about a couple things.

Apparently, school had started; as-well as internships.

Their own group of friends were slightly freaking out about her, but they weren't allowed in.

Damian, Tim, and Dick had to leave to go back to the company and help Bruce.

And, our favorite DJ, Nino, was in the bathroom.

Marinette nodded slightly at all of that.

Then her mind clicked.

Hospital bills.

How the absolute _fuck_ is she going to pay those?

Alya, knowing her best friend, snorted waterly at her. "The hospital bills are already paid for. Our favorite family right here decided to pay for them."

She could've fainted right there, until a doctor softly knocked on the door.

This time it was a male, Jason and Alya noted.

"Is this the wrong time?" Doctor Tyral asked. **(A/N: I just came up with a random last name, don't @ me.)**

Jason shook his head, standing up and wiping his tears. "No, of course not. Come right on in." He smiled. The first, genuinely big, smile, he's had since the hotel incident.

The doctor nodded, heading toward the bed to look at Marinette. "Lets see.." He murmured, looking through his clipboard. "Ah. You're that patient we needed to get a blood donor for."

She stiffly tilted her head at that.

"Oh, right. I'll fill you in on that." The doctor had a warm smile.

He took in a deep breath. "Well, you have been through two surgeries so far. The first surgery was when you got shot in your femoral artery; obviously, we had to get the bullet out. We were unable to do anything else, due to how much blood you lost. Since you are AB-, we had to get a blood donor from the military here. We were _supposed_ to donate the blood when you were awake, but you went into another shock, and almost bled out again. We gave you some of his blood, and preformed another surgery. You'll have scar tissue on your leg, and an extremely obvious scar, but you will heal. I have been informed that you will be going to school, so I suggest you stay close to your friends, and stay out of any trouble, while your stitches help you out. I'm sure you received quite the shock from waking up in the middle of a surgery, so your guests will have five minutes left for visiting time. You two can come back tomorrow." He turned to leave, before pausing.

"And, we attempted to contact your parents, but they hung up immediately after we spoke of you.." He looked back at his patient. "Is everything alright at home?"

Marinette gave a stiff, lying, nod.

He nodded back, before exiting the room.

Jason looked _beyond_ pissed, and Alya looked horrified.

"You.. woke up in the middle.. of _surgery_?"

Marinette, yet again, gave a stiff.. shrug.

She couldn't help the fact that she was also freaking out about that.

Jason turned back to them, sitting down. "Listen. I know _you_ just came out from a long sleep," He looked at Marinette. "so I'm going to ask Alya this." He looked back up. 

He had the softest glare coming from his worried eyes.

.

A couple of, extremely tense, beats were put in.

.

_"What's going on at home?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried the best I could with my mind being how it is right now.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.
> 
> <3
> 
> ~Love,  
> Toaster


	13. Ideas?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fuck

Yo guys.

I'm sorry I haven't been posting; I've been losing ideas for this.

I recently got a new idea on something else, so I think it's blocking my ideas for this one.

Do you have any ideas, or things you want to happen in this story?

If so, do tell me! I'll try to make it happen to the best of my abilities.

Thank you all for staying so patient with me, it means the world.

Love you guys!

~Love,

Toaster


	14. Secret's Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nothing."

"Nothing's going on at home. Trust me, everything's been.. great." She had hesitated.

God, she had hesitated.

Alya nodded, and before Jason could ask anything else, loud screeches filled the air.

" _What's an Akuma doing here!?_ " Nino.

Marinette shot up, "Oh God!"

Alya started trying to push her back down, as did Jason.

He was starting to receive multiples of texts from the others. The fact that he wasn't responding worried them.

"What are you going to do!? You're not a super human, atom!"

Marinette coughed from her struggling, before she paused. "Alya. Take my earrings. _Now_."

The girl immediately started to take off Marinette's earrings, and Jason glared. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Wh- What do I say?" Alya trembled with adrenaline and fear.

Tikki popped out of Marinette's pocket, scaring Jason shitless and into silence.

"Tikki.. spots.. on.." Marinette responded.

Alya nodded, flicking her hair to the side. "Tikki! Spots on!"

A flash of light, and Alya was in Ladybug's outfit.

Jason stared with astonishment. "You're.."

"A superhero. Yes, we both are. I'm Rena Rouge, she is Ladybug. Now, I have to go, I can't hold this form for long since I'm attached to Trixx."

Jason sat up abruptly, "Let me come with you."

"What?" The girls both stared at him.

He let out a shaky sigh, "I'm Red Hood. Tim is Red Robin. Damian is Robin. Dick is Nightwing. Bruce is Batman. All caught up; I'm going to change. I have the outfit in my suitcase."

Marinette had enough of this week. She leaned back, letting out a pained sigh, as Jason rushed into the bathroom to changed from a rich, happy, go-for-it kid, to Red Hood.

'Ladybug' knelt down, tucking some hair behind Marinette's ear. "Everything's gonna be alright. We'll protect each-other. Just.. process everything in here."

Jason, not even two seconds later, burst out. Without another word, the two left.

Marinette stared at the ceiling, feeling her heart thrusting against her rib-cage.

_'Please, be safe..'_

.

.

The others had met on the field. Only Carapace was there of the group, assuming the others went to go somewhere else to not have too much suspicion. Nightwing, Robin, Red Robin, and Batman stared at them.

"Assuming everyone is caught up?" Red Hood's, unusually gruff, voice came from beside 'Ladybug.'

They all nodded. 'Ladybug' was next, "Good. We have to get to work. That thing that's currently stomping around is an Akumatized person. Most likely a female due to their figure. So far, they have eight legs, and an abdomen for webbing. Safe to assume, she's a half spider currently."

Red Robin nodded, "Yes, she is. Now, how the fuck do we beat this thing?"

Carapace spoke up, "We have to break the object the Akuma was absorbed into. With how protective she is of the cage in her right hand, I believe that's the spot. If we break it, Ladybug purifies it. Done."

Batman let out a sigh, "Well, we're in for our shit. Lets go."

An hour later;

"Miraculous.. Ladybug!"

Ladybugs swarmed around the area, fixing anything damaged.

The Bats stared, their eyes widened.

Red Robin then groaned, "We're getting an explanation in Mari's room. Meet you all there in five."

They went their separate ways.

.

.

A couple of minutes later, they met up in a sleeping Marinette's room.

Damian had gently woken her up, and she held his hand as a security for her tired mind.

"Guessing you need answers..?" The girl questioned, as Alya put Marinette's earrings back into her ears.

Bruce nodded, "We know you're not exactly in the state to speak, but we need to know more than what your team knows."

Marinette nodded tiredly, taking in a deep breath.

She got a reassuring squeeze from Damian, and after that, she started to speak.

"I'm the holder of every miraculous, though my main ones are the Ladybug miraculous, Tikki, the Goddess of Creation, along with the Cat miraculous, Plagg, the God of Destruction. The last Guardian of The Miraculous has recently.. _retired_ from his duty." The family had winced at the 'retired' part. "My job is to protect the world from a villian, locally known in Paris as Hawkmoth. He has brought chaos into the world over thousands of times. Including akumatizing an ex-member, Chat Noir, into exploding the moon. It.. was a hard time. Everyone died, but nobody remembered it. Due to Tikki being my Kwamii; I am unable to die while wearing the suit- even without oxygen. I can only suffocate, over and over again, until I am able use a move called Miraculous Ladybug to fix everything. Everyone forgets, but there will always be a scar." 

She gently ran her hand over her left arm, "These scars are all from battles. I've been doing this, without a choice, since I was thirteen."

Jason choked on his water, " _Thirteen_!?"

Bruce furrowed his brows, and Tim's jaw snapped open.

Damian could only grip onto her hand tighter, as Dick stared with wide eyes.

"We all have been doing as such. The last Guardian, Master Fu, had made the choice. We had basically sold our souls."

"Do you regret it?" Bruce asked, carefully.

"Back then, I would have said yes. It took away everything I had ever known, caused me to grow up at such a young age. But now..? No. I don't regret it. I'm here, saving everyone's lives, even if it's at the cost of my own." She smiled gently. "I can protect you all with my strength, rather than my clumsiness. I need a use after all, a purpose."

"Anyways, back to the miraculous. There's plenty of them which I'm too tired to name off, but they have been around for millions of years. Ever since humans had become a thing. The Goddess of Creation had crafted them in her hands, and the Goddess of Destruction had given them their magic. Obviously, Tikki and Plagg are the strongest out of all of them. Hawkmoth is after us, mainly me, due to this."

"Why?" Tim tilted his head.

"If unified, the two can allow you to wish for _anything_ your heart desires."

They inhaled sharply, they already disliked this part.

"With a cost."

Tim sucked in another sharp breath, "What type of cost?"

"Say you wish someone back to life; that means, you take another's life. Hawkmoth, from what we know, wants to revive his wife. The cost would be his son."

"Shouldn't you guys be protecting him, then?" Dick asked, with an edge in his tone.

Alya kicked in, "While we don't wish him death, the son is quite a douche. Especially to Marinette. You guys should piece the rest together."

Damian and Jason let out a growl, " _Agreste_."

Nino nodded, "Bingo."

"But.."

All attention went back to Marinette.

"We won't allow him to die, douche or not. He is a human being, and he's allowed to live in this world for as long as his body wishes it."

They nodded.

"Now, I want to sleep, all of you shoo until I'm apparently asleep and stare at me as I do so."

Dick and Bruce shared a soft chuckle, Damian snorted, and Jason and Tim let out a loud fit of laughter.

As this happened, Alya knelt down and frowned.

"Are you sure this was such a good idea..?"

Marinette closed her eyes, letting out a whisper that- after the laughter paused- everyone could hear.

_"I've never been so sure in my life."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry if this isn't what you guys wanted! I do hope that you enjoyed it, though. I worked on it right after HS.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and have a fantastic day!
> 
> ~Love,  
> Toaster


End file.
